.blog Domain Extensions Are Live

Yesterday was a big day for the WordPress community, as the first ever .blog domain became operational on WordPress.com. Nic.blog was launched yesterday (from Knock Knock, WHOIS There – a branch of Automattic) and registrars are now able to sign up to sell this new and exciting top level domain.

After going live, the following statement was added to nic.blog, in regards to the pricing for .blog domains:

Pricing will be in the standard range for new gTLDs, with premium names available in several tiers. High margins for registrars will be guaranteed by an incentive model, rewarding sales above a certain baseline. Final terms will be published in the coming weeks.

In 2015 Automattic won a fierce bidding war to lead the sale of .blog domains and it’s rumoured the deal was closed at over $20 million, so this was a huge investment for Automattic. Twitter support for .blog domains is not yet live but is expected shortly, and Automattic have projected 250,000 .blog domains will go live in 2016 alone.

It was announced last week that Nominet were chosen by Automattic as the registry services provider for all .blog domains, and a Nominet spokesperson had the following to say:

Nominet will provide the registry services, as well as technical support to the registrar channel. .blog will allow users to create a customised name and web address for their site. Users will not need to have a WordPress or WordPress.com site to purchase one.

Whether or not you plan on purchasing a .blog domain now or in the future, it’s certainly an exciting and innovative time to be part of the WordPress community. We look forward to tracking the progress of these new TLDs and will report any further news as it arises.